The most frustrating
thing about testing boats is how little control we have over the environment
in which we test them. In order to get on a new boat first, we’re
often consigned to whatever weather and seas there are on the available
day. That can mean snotty conditions that buckle your knees and turn your
stomach, but more often it’s flat water and calm winds that reveal
nothing of a boat’s character.

So it’s refreshing
when we can evaluate a boat under a variety of conditions, as I did the
Pursuit 3800. I didn’t just put in a day of measuring fuel burn,
speeds, and sound levels and taking notes. Over 36 hours three shipmates
and I ran our 3800 from Fort Pierce, Florida, to West End, Bahamas, trolled
her off the Bahamas Banks from dawn to dusk, then ran her back across
the Gulf Stream in the dark. In the process we encountered everything
from plate-glass calm to six-footers and had wind and seas on every point.
By the time I returned, I knew this boat.

But before I ever stepped
aboard, I knew the Pursuit 3800 shares many features with the Tiara 3800
Open, and in fact is built in the same factory in Holland, Michigan. I
quickly realized the Pursuit is considerably fishier. Her hull is identical,
except for a lack of feature lines on the sides, a more purposeful squared-off
transom–the Tiara’s is rounded and reversed–and more bow
flare, which came in handy on our trip. Like the Tiara, the Pursuit is
a fishable express cruiser that you can quickly turn into an express fishboat
with the addition of a few key options. After horsing a 25-pound dolphin
into her 147-square-foot cockpit, I appreciated her inwale padding, effective
nonskid, transom door with tuna gate, and large and small in-sole insulated
dunnage boxes with macerators, all standard. And when I wasn’t working
a rod, I enjoyed watching our seven baits from the aft-facing port-side
single seat.

More seating is available
on an aft-facing starboard bench and optional foldaway (as in completely
out of the way) transom seat. But our 3800 was rigged to fish, so although
we had the transom seat, the bench had been replaced by a bait-prep center
with sink, rigging board, and 50-gallon livewell with window. It also
had four slide-out tackle shelves, which had an annoying habit of doing
just that whenever I opened the cabinet door and we were on plane. We
put the center to good use, as we did the standard under-gunwale rod and
gaff stowage and raw- and freshwater washdowns.

With so much transit
time, I spent a lot of time on the bridge, mostly on the comfortable L-shape
settee to port. Beverages were always close at hand in the insulated drink
cooler under its aft leg, and rod belts and such were equally accessible
in the bin under the longer leg. One of the few fishing options not on
our boat was the bait freezer under the aft-facing single seat, a space
we used instead for stowage. The other major stowage locker here, under
the electrically adjustable double helmsman’s seat, was reserved
for safety equipment. About the only thing missing was a trash bin, so
we temporarily consigned our detrius to the sink abaft the helm seat.